How to Make a Featureless Room Sing

Not all rooms are created equal. The lucky ones are graced with expansive windows, architectural details and interesting angles. They have fabulous terms to describe them like Arts and Crafts or Art Deco, Mission style or Neoclassic.

And then there are the less fortunate rooms. Plain boxes with plain white walls. The only word there is to describe them is featureless. Not very exciting, right? But have no fear! Your plain white box isn't doomed to a life of bland. With some creativity and a little elbow grease, you can take your featureless room and make it sing.

The thing about many featureless rooms is that they don't have a focal point. Meaning, they don't have a feature that commands your attention or makes you want to look around. Good examples of focal points include fireplaces, picture windows or an interesting piece of furniture, like a bookcase or a set of built-ins. A great place to start in your featureless room is to decide what you want your focal point to be. And the quickest and easiest way to do this is with paint.

Paint is a cheap and simple way to instantly transform a room. If the room is particularly small, light colors tend to make it feel more spacious. And conversely, if the room is overly large, darker colors help make it feel a little more cozy and intimate. Once you choose your color palette, you'll choose a wall that you want to highlight, and this will become the focal point of the room. If the room is rectangular, the best wall to use is the shortest one at the far end. This will help make the room feel less awkward. Then, choose a color that's two to three shades deeper than the color on the rest of the walls. If you're stuck for a color scheme, take a cue from your accessories, such as a rug or throw pillow. Just be sure not to choose a color that is too similar to your furnishings. You don't want to go from a plain white box to a plain beige box. You need to create enough contrast to make the room look interesting.